Our History

Annual Conference

In 1992, at the quarter centenary conference in Liverpool the Jack Jones lecture was inaugurated in his memory as founding President. At the Annual International Symposium, held each July, one invited speaker is selected to give the Jack Jones Lecture. The first Jack Jones lecture was given in Liverpool by Geoff Parker from Jones' former department. Subsequent speakers have included Larry Dill, Richard Haedrich, Ed Houde, Daniel Pauly and Kurt Fausch.

Medals

In 1995, the Society decided to award a medal each year to an individual who had contributed significantly to fisheries biology. The first medal was awarded to Ray Beverton, who sadly died a few months later. In his honour, the medal was named the Beverton Medal. In 1999, the Society began awarding a second medal each year, known as the FSBI medal, to an early-career scientist who has made a significant contribution to fish biology or fisheries science. The first FSBI medal was awarded to Neil Metcalfe. The Le Cren medal, named after David Le Cren, one of the founder members of the Society, was inaugurated in 2010. This medal is awarded to one or more individuals who have made a lifelong contribution to all aspects of the study of fish biology and/or fisheries science, with a focus on conservation, training or public understanding of the discipline. The first Le Cren medal was awarded to Bob Wootton

International Links

The FSBI is a founder member of the World Council of Fisheries Societies, which co-ordinates activity of national and international fisheries societies and organises the World Fisheries Congress every four years. In 2012, the FSBI led the organisation of the 6th World Fisheries Congress in Edinburgh, which was opened by HRH Prince Charles.

The FSBI has close working relationships with a number of other similalrly focused organisations, including the American Fisheries Society, the Japanese Society of Fisheries Science and the China Society of Fisheries, as well as close ties to the Canada Conference for Fisheries Research and the Australian Society for Fish Biology. The Societies maintain close links and the respective Presidents regularly attend and contribute to each other's annual conferences, exchanging information and furthering international interactions.